Planer thicknesser or better thicknesser with jointers jig?

[LewisM]

I'm in 2 minds as to whether I should pick up a bandsaw or a planer thicknesser, so for now I'm trying to find out what I can about the latter.

I've got a budget of ~£500, which most people on this forum seem to think isn't enough for a good PT?
Saying that Scott Sargeant is selling a Record P260 (reduced from £700 to £500) that looks amazing - cast iron bed and a 2 1/4hp motor can't be that bad..?

If not, my other option is to go with something like a DeWalt DW734 thicknesser and make a jointers jig for our table saw. I'm mostly going to be making furniture so shouldn't need to square anything thicker than what the table saw can handle, so with that in mind maybe I would be better off going down this route?

I'm really reluctant to buy anything second hand, I don't have the mechanical knowledge to know what's worth buying and what's junk, plus the lack of a warranty really puts me off. I don't have the money to constantly drop on repairs if a machine breaks down, so I would rather have the peace of mind that comes with a warranty.

 

[sitefive]

got the metabo version of the 260 recently ,Nice machine.. IF the planer beds were a bit longer. However If I had to buy it again I would just wait a bit more and get used one.. ( £500 I paid for mine was an eye watering amount for me for it) They are seriously well built and oozes of quality Not sure anything can go wrong with those machines.
I would not bother making a jig to joint on a table saw..why the hassle? If you want to go down that route just get some used lunchbox machine for like £50 and you are set!

 

[RogerP]

The Record at £500 is a very good buy, I doubt you'll find better, go for it.

 

[PeteG]

Hello Lewis

Don't forget Scott & Sargeant add the Vat in the shopping cart, so it'll be £600.00. I've had the Record PT260 for just over a year, no problems at all with it
and it has done everything I've wanted of it. I wasn't bothered at the time about the change over from planer to thicknesser but over the past few months
it has become a real pain. That was after I decided to turn my hobby in to a full time job. I don't use it every day, I buy timber once a month and then spend
a few hours putting it all through the P/T, but times when I need thinner stock I might have to change from one to the other several times a day, that's when it
becomes a bit if a drag. Once I get the credit card down a bit in the New Year, I'll be replacing it for something with a 12" planer.

 

[Alexam]

Lewis, dont forget that if you orderthe Record PT260 hen a show is on, then you will get discount and fre delivery. You also have the 5 year guarantee with Record. I bought this machine fro R S Paskin of Kidderminster almost a year ago and it is an excllent machine.It has not ha a great deal of use, but does what it says on the can.

Alex

 

[siggy_7]

You can get good stuff second hand within your budget and I'm not talking about old hulks. I got a Scheppach HMS260 (similar to the Record) and it does a great job. I understand your reticence about going second hand but there really is very little that goes wrong as they are simple machines. Check that it runs, bearings are ok and table for flatness and that's pretty much it. Drive belts and knives are the only things you may have to replace which are cheap and easy to do.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

 

[LewisM]

got the metabo version of the 260 recently ,Nice machine.. IF the planer beds were a bit longer. However If I had to buy it again I would just wait a bit more and get used one.. ( £500 I paid for mine was an eye watering amount for me for it) They are seriously well built and oozes of quality Not sure anything can go wrong with those machines.
I would not bother making a jig to joint on a table saw..why the hassle? If you want to go down that route just get some used lunchbox machine for like £50 and you are set!

I've just had a look at the Matebo, it looks pretty similar to the Record I was looking at. Can anyone else chime in on which they;d recommend?
Also what do you mean by a lunchbox machine?

Don't forget Scott & Sargeant add the Vat in the shopping cart, so it'll be £600.00. I've had the Record PT260 for just over a year, no problems at all with it
and it has done everything I've wanted of it. I wasn't bothered at the time about the change over from planer to thicknesser but over the past few months
it has become a real pain. That was after I decided to turn my hobby in to a full time job. I don't use it every day, I buy timber once a month and then spend
a few hours putting it all through the P/T, but times when I need thinner stock I might have to change from one to the other several times a day, that's when it
becomes a bit if a drag. Once I get the credit card down a bit in the New Year, I'll be replacing it for something with a 12" planer.

Ahh ok, well either way that's still a pretty good price. And as it happens they're quite close to me, so I won't even have to pay delivery
I'm not really bothered by how long it takes to switch from P to T, as you said yourself it's fine for the average hobbyist. I'm sure further down the line I'll need to upgrade, but I'll deal with that problem as and when it arrives.

Lewis, don't forget that if you order the Record PT260 hen a show is on, then you will get discount and free delivery...

Someone mentioned this when I was asking about bandsaws too - is there anywhere I can find a list of all the shows that are on?

 

[Alexam]

If you look at the General Woodworking Forum, you should see Woodworking Events section. However, although a lot are advertised, some are missed out. If you cannot manage to attend, you can call up the Recurd man at the show and he would take an order. Dont forget the 5 year guarantee with Record. It's worth a lot.

Alex

 

[sitefive]

I'm not really sure why people whine about the switchover- it takes like 15seconds to switch from planer to thicknesser and about 30 to switch back.
Record one has just longer warranty ( metabo got 3years) and I got mine for £495 delivered, was looking at the record as well but I seriously Did not see why I should pay £105 more for the record version.

 

[RogerP]

I think some price differences are due to some versions have cast iron tables others have aluminium.